Concentrator.



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PETER C. FORRESTER, OF SPRINGVALLEY, ILLINOIS.

CONCENTRATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,053, dated September 3, 1901. Application filed March 15,1901- Sarial No. 51,306. (No model.)

To all whom, it 71mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, PETER C. FoRREsrER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Springvalley, in the county of Bureau and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Concentrator, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in concentrators for ores, and the object is to provide a device of novel construction for separating or grading ores, and especially for the gold sands in placer-diggings, where the line gold has a tendency to oat away by eX- cess of water used for concentration.

I will describe a concentrator embodying my invention and then point out the novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specication, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a sectional elevation of a concentratorembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan View. Fig. 3 is a section on the line a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan View of a portion of the sluice-box and concentrating-belt. Fig. 5 is a section on the line y y of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a detail showing belt-flattening rollers employed.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a water-tank supported in a suitable frame 2. Arranged in this tank is a sluice-box 3, which is designed to have a reciprocating motion either lengthwise or transversely. I have here shown it as having transverse movement imparted to it from a driving-shaft 4, having ,an eccentric 5, from which an eccentric-rod 6 extends to the sluice-box. This sluice-box is arranged longitudinally of the water-tank and at an incline, and its upper end has a pivotal connection 7 with a bracket at the discharge end of the tank. Arranged within the sluice-box is a series of blocks 8. These blocks are of varying height and alternate one with another, the projections gradually diminishing from the feed end of the sluice to the outlet end. This is designed to give a wave-like action to the sand containing gold carried over the blocks by the concentratingbelt 9, the portion of the belt passing over the blocks being pressed into the depressions by the weight of the sand thereon. This endless belt 9 consists of canvas or other suitable material and passes around an idler 10 in the lower end of the sluice-box, thence over idlers Il and 12 on uprights of the frame 2, and around a heating drum or roller 13. This heating drum or roller 13 is provided with a tubular shaft 14, into which a heating niedium may pass from a pipe 15. The heating medium may consist of steam or hot air. Rotary motion is imparted to the heatingdrum by means ot a worm 1G on the driving-shaft 4 engaging with a gear 17 on the shaft of the roller. The belt 9 is arranged ata transverse incline in the sluice-box and is somewhat wider than the sluice-box, so that in passing through the same the edges of the belt will be turned upward, as clearly indicated in Fig. 5, preventing an overflow of material at the sides thereof. When passing from the sluiceboX, however, the belt will be attened out by means of rollers 18 and 19, engaging, respectively, with the top and bottom of said belt at the edges.

In operation the sand containing metal is fed into a rotating perforated cylinder 20, from which it falls through a chute 21 onto the belt 9 at the lower end of the sluice and at the higher side of the belt. The material as it is carried upward will be caused to separate by the vibrating motion of the sluicethat is, the heavy particles, such as gold, will remain at the higher side of the belt, while the lighter material will pass to the lower side and discharge with water from a pipe 22a at the upper end of the belt. The values will be carried with the belt around the heating-drum, which will thoroughly dry the Values and also dry the belt for future operation, and these dry values will fall into the discharge-spout 22.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A concentrator,comprising a water-tank, a vibrating sluice arranged in said tank, blocks arranged in the bottom of the sluice and having varying height, the said projections diminishing toward the outlet end of the sluice, and an endless belt movable through said sluice and upon said blocks, substantially as specified.

2. A concentrator,cornprising a water-tank,

IOO

a slnice-box arranged at an incline in said tank, means for causing a vibrating motion of said sluice-box, blocks of varying height arranged in said sluice-box, an endless band movable through said sluice-box and over the blocks, and a heating-drum around which said band passes, substantially as specified.

3. A concentrator, comprising a tank, a sluice-box mounted to swing in said tank and .having a wave-like bottom, an endless belt or band movable over said wave-like bottom at a transverse incline,a heating-drum around which the band passes, idlers over which the band passes, and a receiver for values discharged from the heating-drum, substantially as specied.

4.- A concentrator,comprisinga water-tank, a sluice arranged at a lengthwise incline in said tank, blocks of varying height arranged in said sluice, an endless belt movable over said blocks at a transverse incline, a heatingdrum around which the belt passes, a receiver for the values discharged from the drum, and a feeding device at the lower end of the chute, substantially as specified.

5. A concentrator, comprising a fixed tank, a sluice arranged at an incline in said tank, an endless band of canvas movable through said sluice, a heating-drum around which the band passes, means for discharging a heating medium into said drum, a driving-shaft for the drum,an eccentric connection between said shaft and the sluice, a receiver for material discharged from the drum, a perforated feed-drum at the lower end of the sluice, and a chute for receiving material therefrom, substantially as`specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

P. C'. FORRESTER.

Witnesses:

R. B. GUMMING, C. I. MoDoNALD. 

